Single-pass magnetic reading and optical reading apparatus and method

ABSTRACT

A document reading apparatus reduces processing time and affords excellent ease of use when reading a slip document to acquire both magnetically read data and image data. Transportation unit  19, 20  convey slips through a transportation path. Magnetic reading unit  21, 22  output magnetically read data acquired by reading the printed magnetic ink characters from the slip as the slip passes through the transportation path, and optical reading unit  23, 24  output image data captured by optically imaging the same slip during the same pass through the transportation path. A control unit  11  interprets control commands and controls slip transportation, the magnetic reading process, and the optical reading process accordingly. A single-pass multiple-reading command controls executing a single-pass multiple-reading process for applying both the magnetic reading and optical reading of specified slip during a single pass through the transportation path.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a document reading apparatus, hybridprocessing apparatus, document reading processing system, and documentreading processing method for reading small pieces of paper (i.e. slips)on which magnetic ink characters and image data are printed. “Imagedata” as referred to herein generally unit text, graphics and imagesthat are printed on paper by laser, ink-jet, dot-matrix, etc. printing.

2. Description of the Related Art

Slips such as checks have conventionally had essential information suchas the bank, account number, and even check amount information printedon the front of the check in magnetic ink. Whether or not a check isvalid and can be used is typically determined by reading the magneticink information with a document reader that can read the magnetic inkcharacters while conveying the check or other slip through a documenttransportation path. In addition to reading magnetic ink characters,demand has also grown for document readers that can optically scan thesurface of the entire check and store the scanned check image as imagedata. This demand has led to the development of document readingapparatuses (hybrid processing apparatuses) that execute both magneticreading and optical reading processes. See, for example, JapaneseUnexamined Patent Appl. Pub. 2003-6713.

In general, a slip reading apparatus such as described above isconnected to and communicates with a host device over a network, aserial communication bus, or USB communication channel, for example, toform a document reading processing system for processing checks andother slips. The operation of the document reading apparatus iscontrolled by specific control commands received from the host device.When a desired slip is read with this document reading apparatus, thehost device controls operation by, for example, first sending a controlcommand to read the magnetic ink characters and receive the resultingmagnetic ink character data, and then sending a control command tooptically read the image on the slip and receive the resulting imagedata.

To control document reading apparatus operation from the host device asdescribed above, however, the slip must first be loaded and transportedin order to read the magnetic ink characters, and then must be loadedagain and transported a second time for optical reading. The host devicemust therefore wait to sequentially acquire the necessary magnetic inkcharacter data and image data. This operation is complicated andinefficient and ease of use is thus poor. The host device also cannotdetermine the operating condition of the document reading apparatus, andunnecessary reading operations may therefore also be run.

The present invention is therefore directed to solving the foregoingproblems, and an object of the invention is to provide a documentreading apparatus, method, and document reading processing systemwhereby both magnetic ink character data and image data can be read andcaptured from a slip document during a single pass through thetransportation path, thus making complicated operation unnecessary,shortening the time required for document reading, and thereby providingexcellent convenience and ease of use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To achieve the foregoing object, a document reading processing systemaccording to the present invention has a document reading apparatus forreading a slip on which magnetic ink characters are printed, thedocument reading apparatus being connected via a network to a hostdevice for operating the document reading apparatus. The documentreading apparatus has a transportation unit that conveys the slipthrough a transportation path; a magnetic reading unit that magneticallyreads the printed magnetic ink characters from the slip in thetransportation path and outputs magnetic ink character recognition(MICR) data; an optical reading unit that optically reads an image ofthe slip in the transportation path and outputs image data; and acontrol unit that controls the transportation unit, the magnetic readingunit, and the optical reading unit, according to a command from the hostdevice. The host device has a command unit that instructs the documentreading apparatus to magnetically read magnetic ink characters andoptically read an image from a specific slip during a single pass of theslip through the transportation path, and to transmit a read result tothe host device; and a read data storage unit that stores MICR and imagedata transmitted from the document reading apparatus correlated to thespecific slip that was read.

When the single-pass multiple-reading process is executed by thedocument reading apparatus in response to a command from the hostdevice, the magnetic reading is executed by the magnetic reading unitand the optical reading is run by the optical reading unit while theslip to be processed is transported once through the transportationpath, thus acquiring both magnetically read data and image data in asingle pass of the document. Operation of the document reading apparatusis thus simple, and the time required to read and process a slip can bereliably shortened.

Furthermore, the document reading apparatus can send the magneticallyread data or image data to the host device when the host device requeststhe read data, and the read data can thus be sequentially stored linkedto a particular slip in a data storage device. Data read from aparticular slip can thus be quickly confirmed at one time.

Preferably, the control unit of the document reading apparatus generatesdata for identifying whether the magnetic reading and optical readingended normally or in error as the read result of the single-passmultiple-reading, and returns the read result to the host device thatsent the single-pass multiple-reading command.

When the host device instructs the document reading apparatus to run thesingle-pass multiple-reading process, information indicating the resultof the process is generated and returned to the host device. The hostdevice can thus identify whether the process ended normally or ended dueto an error based on this returned information. User convenience canthus be yet further improved by running the process suited to thecurrent status.

In a document reading processing system according to another aspect ofthe invention, the control unit of the document reading apparatusinterprets control commands received from the host device and controlsoperation according to the interpreted commands. The command unit of thehost device sends as control commands to the document reading apparatusa single-pass multiple-reading command instructing execution of bothmagnetic reading and optical reading in a single pass of the slipthrough the transportation path, a magnetically read data transmissioncommand instructing transmission of the t MICR to the host, and an imagedata transmission command instructing transmission of the image data tothe host.

The host device can thus easily control the document reading apparatusto execute specific operations according to the combination of controlcommands applied to the document reading apparatus. The sequence ofoperations applied to a particular slip can also be easily and freelycontrolled by combining the single-pass multiple-reading command,magnetically read data transmission command, and image data transmissioncommand appropriately.

In a document reading processing system according to another aspect ofthe invention, the command unit of the host device adds to thesingle-pass multiple-reading command a parameter for selectivelyspecifying the magnetic reading process or the optical reading processas the type of reading process to apply to the slip during one passthrough the transportation path; and the control unit of the documentreading apparatus selectively executes only the reading processselectively specified by said parameter in the single-passmultiple-reading process.

Processing time can thus be shortened and energy consumption can bereduced when the host device needs the magnetically read data or theimage data because the host device can set a parameter to selectivelyspecify the required data for a particular slip, thus preventing thedocument reading apparatus from executing unnecessary processes.

In a document reading processing system according to another aspect ofthe invention, the optical reading unit of the document readingapparatus has a first optical reading unit for imaging the front side ofthe slip and outputting the front image data, and a second opticalreading unit for imaging the back side of the slip and outputting theback image data; a parameter for selectively specifying whether imagedata for the front or image data for the back of the read slip is to beread is added to the image data transmission command; and the controlunit of the document reading apparatus selectively transmits only imagedata for the side selectively specified by the parameter in the imagedata transmission process.

The host device can thus set a parameter to selectively specify whichside of the slip to read when image data is needed for only one side ofthe processed slip, thereby reducing the load on the image scanningprocess in the document reading apparatus, shortening the processingtime, and saving energy.

In a document reading processing system according to another aspect ofthe invention, the command unit of the host device sends themagnetically read data transmission command or image data transmissioncommand to the document reading apparatus only when the reading processis determined to have ended normally based on the returned read result.

When the host device sends a magnetically read data transmission commandor image data transmission command after the single-passmultiple-reading command to the document reading apparatus, the hostdevice can control the document reading apparatus to send only read datafor slips that were processed normally. Unnecessary communicationprocesses are thus stopped from running, and processing time can begreatly reduced.

In a document reading processing system according to another aspect ofthe invention, the host device runs a specific error process when thereading process is determined to have ended in error based on thereturned read result.

Because the host device applies a specific error handling process to aslip if the slip reading process ended due to an error when the hostdevice sends the magnetically read data transmission command or imagedata transmission command after the single-pass multiple-reading commandto the document reading apparatus, problems occurring when reading adesired slip can be reliably reported.

In a document reading processing system according to another aspect ofthe invention, the control unit of the document reading apparatusreturns status data to the host device in the magnetically read datatransmission process when the magnetic reading process generates anerror and ends processing for a specified slip, the status dataindicating a cause of the error, and returns status data to the hostdevice in the image data transmission process when the optical readingprocess generates an error and ends processing for a specified slip, thestatus data indicating a cause of the error. The host device then runsan error handling process according to the content of the receivedstatus data.

When the host device sends a magnetically read data transmission commandor image data transmission command following the single-passmultiple-reading command to the document reading apparatus, the documentreading apparatus returns status data about an error if processing thespecified slip ended due to an error. The host device can thereforereference this error status data to reliably detect that a problemoccurred during slip processing and the cause of the problem, and thusrun an appropriate error handling process.

A document reading apparatus according to a further aspect of theinvention for reading slips on which magnetic ink characters are printedhas a transportation unit that conveys the slip through a transportationpath; a magnetic reading unit that magnetically reads the printedmagnetic ink characters from the slip in the transportation path andoutputs magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) data; an opticalreading unit that optically reads an image of the slip in thetransportation path and outputs image data; and a control unit thatinterprets an input control command, and based on the interpretedcontrol command, controls the transportation unit, the magnetic readingunit, and the optical reading unit. The control command contains asingle-pass multiple-reading command to magnetically read magnetic inkcharacters and optically read an image from a specific slip during asingle pass of the slip through the transportation path.

When a single-pass multiple-reading command is input to read aparticular slip, the slip is read by the magnetic reading process of themagnetic reading unit and the optical imaging process of the opticalreading unit, and both magnetically read data and optically scannedimage data can thus be output, with a single pass of the slip throughthe transportation path. Complicated operation of the document readingapparatus is thus not needed, and the time required to read and processa document slip can thus be reliably shortened.

A document reading apparatus according to a further aspect of theinvention adds a parameter for selectively specifying the magneticreading process or the optical reading process as the type of readingprocess to apply to the slip during one pass through the transportationpath to the single-pass multiple-reading command. The control unit thenselectively executes only the reading process selectively specified bysaid parameter in the single-pass multiple-reading process.

By thus adding a parameter to the single-pass multiple-reading commandfor selectively specifying execution of the magnetic reading process oroptical reading process, processing time can be further shortened byselecting only one reading process when magnetically read data or imagedata has already been captured for the slip.

In a document reading apparatus according to a further aspect of theinvention, the control unit generates and outputs data for identifyingwhether the magnetic reading process and optical reading processrespectively ended normally or in error as a read result of thesingle-pass multiple-reading process.

This aspect of the invention generates and outputs informationindicating the read result of the single-pass multiple-reading process,and whether reading ended normally or in error can be determined fromthis information. User convenience and ease of use are thus improvedbecause the host device can therefore reference the read result to runan error handling process or other process appropriate to the situation.

In a document reading apparatus according to a further aspect of theinvention, the optical reading unit of the document reading apparatuscontains a first optical reading unit for reading the front side of theslip and outputting front image data, and a second optical reading unitfor reading the back side of the slip and outputting back image data.

By outputting image data for both the front and back sides of the slipbeing read, this aspect of the invention can acquire a wide range ofother information complementing the magnetically read data, and thusimproves the utility value of the processed slip.

A hybrid processing apparatus according to a further aspect of thepresent invention has a document reading apparatus as described above,and a printing unit for printing on the slip with a print head. Thecontrol unit of the document reading apparatus controls the printingoperation of the printing unit based on a control command.

A document reading processing method according to a further aspect ofthe invention for reading a slip on which magnetic ink characters areprinted, comprises: receiving a single-pass multiple-reading commandfrom a host device; interpreting the single-pass multiple-readingcommand; and in response to the single-pass multiple-reading command,magnetically reading the printed magnetic ink characters from the slipand optically reading an image of the slip in a single pass of the slipthrough a slip transportation path, and outputting a read result.

A document reading processing method according to a further aspect ofthe invention also has a step of generating and outputting data foridentifying whether the magnetic reading process and optical readingprocess respectively ended normally or in error as the read result ofthe single-pass multiple-reading command.

When a parameter is added to the single-pass multiple-reading command isdetermined to be a parameter for selectively specifying the magneticreading process or the optical reading process as the type of readingprocess to apply to the slip during one pass through the transportationpath, a document reading processing method according to another aspectof the invention selectively executes only the reading processselectively specified by the parameter.

A document reading apparatus according to this invention thus provides amagnetic reading unit and an optical reading unit for reading a slipdocument, and a control unit for executing both the magnetic readingprocess and optical reading process during a single documenttransportation operation. This document reading apparatus thus requiresless time to acquire both magnetically read data and optically read datafrom a desired slip document, acquires both magnetic and optical datawithout requiring the operator to repeatedly handle the document, andthus provides excellent convenience and ease of use.

A document reading processing system according to this invention thusprovides a magnetic reading unit and an optical reading unit for readinga slip document, a control unit for executing both the magnetic readingprocess and optical reading process during a single documenttransportation operation, and sends the magnetically read data and imagedata captured from the processed slip document to the host device. Thisdocument reading processing system thus reliably reduces overallprocessing time without repeatedly handling each document, and thusprovides excellent convenience and ease of use.

Other objects and attainments together with a fuller understanding ofthe invention will become apparent and appreciated by referring to thefollowing description and claims taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an oblique view of the exterior of a hybrid processingapparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 schematically shows the transportation path in a hybridprocessing apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of a hybridprocessing apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of the control command receiving process executedby a hybrid processing apparatus according to a preferred embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of the single-pass multiple-reading processexecuted as step S14 in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 describes the parameter data added to the single-passmultiple-reading command for selecting the type of reading process toexecute;

FIG. 7 describes the content of the read result sent in step S42 in FIG.5;

FIG. 8 is a flow chart of the image data transmission process run instep S16 in FIG. 4;

FIG. 9 is a flow chart of a first process executed by the host device;and

FIG. 10 is a flow chart of a second process executed by the host device.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A hybrid processing apparatus and a host device are described by way ofexample below according to preferred embodiments of the presentinvention, described first below with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2.

A hybrid processing apparatus provides the functions of two devices in asingle unit. More specifically, this hybrid processing apparatusprovides the functions of a document reading apparatus that reads bothmagnetic ink characters and image data from a check or other slipdocument (simply “slip” below), and performs the functions of a printerfor printing on the same slip. The present invention does not, however,require the functions of a printer, and is directed more particularly tothe function of the document reading apparatus.

FIG. 1 is an oblique view showing the exterior of a hybrid processingapparatus 1 according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 schematicallyshows the slip transportation path in this hybrid processing apparatus1.

As shown in FIG. 1, a hybrid processing apparatus 1 according to thisembodiment of the invention has a U-shaped (FIG. 2) transportation path2 for conveying a check or other slip. A cover 3 covers the top part ofthis hybrid processing apparatus 1 along the transportation path 2.Checks and other slips are manually inserted into the transportationpath 2 from a loading slot 4, and are discharged from an exit 5 at theother end of the transportation path.

FIG. 2 shows parts related to reading a slip P along the transportationpath 2 from the loading slot 4 to the exit 5. A line of MICR (magneticink character recognition) text containing, for example, the user'saccount number, serial check number, and other information encoded inmagnetic ink characters is printed at a specified position on the frontof the slip P. Magnetic ink characters thus printed on a slip P can beread by extracting the magnetic waveform pattern of the magnetic inkcharacters using an MICR head further described below, and theninterpreting the resultant magnetic signal.

As shown in FIG. 2, a slip P inserted to the loading slot 4 issequentially conveyed in the direction of arrow A by firsttransportation roller 33 and then second transportation roller 34, andis then discharged by the discharge roller 35 from the paper exit 5. Asthe slip P is conveyed through the transportation path 2, the documentis read according to the position of the slip detected by a BOF (bottomof form) sensor 31 and TOF (top of form) sensor 32.

The slip P is optically read using the front CIS mechanism 24 a and backCIS mechanism 24 b contained in the CIS (contact image sensor) mechanismfurther described below, and is magnetically read using an MICR head 22.The front and back sides of a slip P traveling through thetransportation path 2 are first optically read by the front CISmechanism 24 a and back CIS mechanism 24 b, respectively, and then themagnetic ink characters printed on the front of the slip P are read bythe MICR head 22.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the hardware arrangement of thishybrid processing apparatus 1. As shown in FIG. 3, this hybridprocessing apparatus 1 has two CPUs, specifically a main CPU 11 handlingoverall control of the apparatus, and a second CPU 13 for handlingprimarily the optical reading. A dedicated second CPU 13 is provided foroptical data processing because optical scanning is generally processorintensive.

The main CPU 11, which functions as the control unit, runs a desiredprocess using memory unit 12, which contains RAM and ROM, and exchangescontrol signals and other information with the MICR control unit 21,paper feed control unit 19, printing control unit 17, and sensor unit 16connected thereto by an internal bus 25.

The second CPU 13 runs the optical imaging process using another memoryunit 14, which contains ROM and RAM, and exchanges control signals anddata with the CIS control unit 23 connected thereto via the internal bus25. The main CPU 11 and second CPU 13 are not interconnected via theinternal bus 25, but instead communicate through a dedicated port.

The host device 30 is connected to the hybrid processing apparatus 1over a network. When a specific control command is sent to the hybridprocessing apparatus 1 as a function of an application program runningon the host device 30, the control command is received from the networkby the communication interface 15 and passed to the main CPU 11. Themain CPU 11 then analyzes the control command, and controls other partsof the hybrid processing apparatus according to the interpreted controlcommands. A process run by the main CPU 11 also sends data read from theslip P through the communication interface 15 over the network to thehost device 30. This host device 30 includes a CPU 30 a that functionsas the command unit to control executing a control command transmissionprocess, and has a storage unit 30 a that stores data received from thehybrid processing apparatus 1.

The sensor unit 16 contains a variety of sensors disposed for detectingthe operating status of the hybrid processing apparatus 1. These sensorsinclude, for example, the BOF sensor 31 and TOF sensor 32 positionedalong the transportation path 2, and a sensor for detecting whether thecover of the hybrid processing apparatus 1 is open or closed. Detectionsignals from the sensors of this sensor unit 16 are output at accordingto a specific timing to the main CPU 11.

The printing control unit 17 controls driving the print head 18 to printdesired print data on a slip P as instructed by the main CPU 11. Theprint head 18 prints a pattern corresponding to the print data on theslip P as the slip P is conveyed passed the print head 18. The printingcontrol unit 17 and print head 18 together function as a printing unit.

The paper feed control unit 19 drives the paper feed mechanism 20 thatcontains a motor and rollers as controlled by the main CPU 11 to conveya slip P from the loading slot 4 to the exit 5. Note that the main CPU11 can appropriately change the transportation speed of the slip P bythe paper feed mechanism 20. The paper feed control unit 19 and paperfeed mechanism 20 together function as the transportation unit.

The MICR control unit 21 drives the MICR head 22 as instructed by themain CPU 11 to read the magnetic ink characters printed on the slip Pand extract a magnetic signal and generate resultant data correspondingto the pattern of the magnetic ink characters. The location of themagnetic ink characters read by the MICR head 22 can be determined fromthe position of the slip P detected by the sensor unit 16 while the slipP is transported. The MICR control unit 21 and MICR head 22 togetherfunction as the magnetic reading unit.

The CIS control unit 23 drives the CIS mechanism 24 as instructed by theCIS control unit 23 to optically scan or read the front and back sidesof the slip P and extract an image signal generate resultant datarepresenting images on the slip P. The area that is scanned by the CISmechanism 24 can be determined from the position of the slip P detectedby the sensor unit 16 as the slip P is conveyed through thetransportation path 2. This CIS mechanism 24 has a front CIS mechanism24 a and back CIS mechanism 24 b as described above, and these scanningmechanisms can be individually controlled. The CIS control unit 23 andCIS mechanism 24 together function as the optical reading unit.

The process whereby the hybrid processing apparatus 1 according to thepresent invention reads a slip P is described in detail below withreference to FIG. 4 to FIG. 8. The slip P reading processes describedbelow are a magnetic reading process for reading by unit of the MICRcontrol unit 21 and MICR head 22, and an optical reading process forreading by unit of the CIS control unit 23 and CIS mechanism 24.

The control command receiving process executed by the hybrid processingapparatus 1 is described first with reference to the flow chart thereofin FIG. 4. A function of the application program run by the host device30 sends a particular control command before the control commandreceiving process shown in FIG. 4 runs. The control command sent fromthe host device 30 is received through the communication interface 15(step S11). The main CPU 11 interprets the received control command(step S12) to determine the type of control command and extract anyadditional information sent with the command.

If the received control command is determined in step S12 to be asingle-pass multiple-read command (step S13 returns yes), the main CPU11 controls execution of a single-pass multiple-reading process (stepS14). On the other hand, if the received control command is not asingle-pass multiple-read command (step S13 returns no), control passesto step S15.

The single-pass multiple-reading process executed in step S14 is aprocess for reading magnetic ink characters and optically reading theimage on the slip during a single transportation operation, that is,during a single pass of the slip through the transportation path 2. Itis started in response to a single-pass multiple-read read command sentfrom the host device 30.

This single-pass multiple-reading process is described in detail below.

If the received control command is determined in step S12 to be an imagedata transmission command (step S15 returns yes), the main CPU 11controls executing an image data transmission command (step S16). If thereceived control command is not an image data transmission command (stepS15 returns no), control passes to step S17.

The image data transmission process in step S16 retrieves image datacaptured from a specific slip P from memory unit 14, and sends the imagedata to the host device 30. This image data is resultant data that isthe result of optical reading of the specific slip P slip previouslyperformed by the hybrid processing apparatus 1 and stored in memory unit14. The image data transmission process is started in response to animage data transmission command sent from the host device 30.

The image data transmission process is also described in detail below.

If the received control command is determined in step S12 to be an MICRdata transmission command (step S17 returns yes), the main CPU 11controls execution of the MICR data transmission process (step S18). Ifthe received control command is not an MICR data transmission command(step S17 returns no), control passes to step S19.

The MICR data transmission process executed in step S18 reads the MICRdata from memory unit 12, and sends the MICR data to the host device 30.This MICR data is resultant data that is the result of the magneticreading of the specific slip P previously performed by the hybridprocessing apparatus 1 and stored to the memory unit 12. The MICR datatransmission process is started in response to a MICR data transmissioncommand sent from the host device 30.

If the received control command is determined in step S12 to be someother control command, the process called by that control command isexecuted (step S19), and the process shown in FIG. 4 ends. Descriptionof control commands other than the three control commands noted above isomitted in this embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of the single-pass multiple-reading processexecuted as step S14 in FIG. 4.

As shown in FIG. 5, the main CPU 11 checks the parameters added to thereceived single-pass multiple-reading command (step S31). Theseparameters include a data ID appended to each processed slip P. Readingthe data ID thus enables identification of the read slip P. If aspecific slip P can be identified by other unit, this data ID can beprocessed as a constant value. A parameter for selecting the type ofreading process to execute is another important parameter that is addedto the single-pass multiple-reading command.

FIG. 6 shows the parameters added to the single-pass multiple-readingcommand for selecting the type of reading process. As shown in FIG. 6,one bit each is allocated to the magnetic reading process and theoptical reading process so that both processes can be individuallyselected or not selected. The host device 30 can thus select both themagnetic reading process and the optical reading process, and can selectonly the magnetic reading process or only the optical reading process.

If the result of the parameter check in step S31 is that the magneticreading process is selected (step S32 returns yes), the magnetic readingflag is set to enable the magnetic reading process (step S33). If themagnetic reading process is not selected (step S32 returns no), step S33is skipped and does not execute.

If the result of the parameter check in step S31 is that the opticalreading process is selected (step S34 returns yes), the optical readingflag is set to enable the optical reading process (step S35). If theoptical reading process is not selected (step S34 returns no), step S35is skipped and does not execute.

Note that the process shown in FIG. 5 starts with the magnetic readingflag and optical reading flag not being set, that is, cleared to thedisabled state.

The main CPU 11 then applies a command to the paper feed control unit 19to drive the paper feed mechanism 20 in order to transport the slip Pinserted to the hybrid processing apparatus 1, and thus start conveyingthe slip P referenced to the detection signals from the sensor unit 16(step S36).

If the magnetic reading flag is set to enable (step S37 returns yes),the main CPU 11 sends a command to the MICR control unit 21 to drive theMICR head 22, and thus controls magnetically reading the slip P (stepS38). Magnetic ink characters printed on a specific area of the slip Pare read based on detection signals from the sensor unit 16 in step S38.

If the magnetic reading flag is set to the disabled state (step S37returns no), step S38 does not execute.

If the optical reading flag is set to enable (step S39 returns yes), thesecond CPU 13 sends a command to the CIS control unit 23 to drive theCIS mechanism 24, and thus controls optically reading the slip P (stepS40). Step S40 reads specific areas on the front and back sides of theslip P based on detection signals from the sensor unit 16. If theoptical reading flag is set to the disabled state (step S39 returns no),step S40 does not execute.

When transportation of the slip P ends (step S41 returns yes), controlgoes to step S42. However, steps S36 to S41 repeat while slip Ptransportation continues (step S41 returns no). If step S41 detects thatslip P transportation has ended, all required MICR data has been storedin memory unit 12 and all required image data has been stored in memoryunit 14.

The read result, that is, information identifying whether the result ofthe single-pass multiple-reading process is normal or an error hasoccured, is then generated and sent to the host device 30 from thecommunication interface 15 (step S42). The operation shown in FIG. 5then ends.

FIG. 7 show the content of the read result transmitted in step S42. Asshown in FIG. 7, one bit each is allocated to the MICR read result andthe optical read result as the result of the single-passmultiple-reading process, and each bit can be set separately to indicatewhether the corresponding process ended normally or ended due to anerror. Note that termination of a reading operation in the single-passmultiple-reading process due to an error can normally be determinedbased on the detection result from the sensor unit 16.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart of the image data transmission process executedas step S16 in FIG. 4. When an image data transmission command isreceived, the main CPU 11 checks the parameters added to the receivedimage data transmission command as shown in FIG. 8 (step S51). Theseparameters include a data ID that can be read to identify the read slipP.

An image data selection parameter for selecting whether to read thefront or the back of the slip P is set in the image data transmissioncommand. As a result, each execution of the image data transmissionprocess in this embodiment of the invention transmits image data foronly the front side or only the back side of the slip P as specified bythis parameter.

If based on the result of step S51 this image data selection parameteris set to retrieve image data for the front of the slip P (step S52),the front image data matching the specified data ID is selected and readfrom the image data stored in the memory unit 14, and then sent throughthe communication interface 15 to the host device 30 (step S53).

If this image data selection parameter is not set to the front imagedata (step S52 returns no) and is set to the back image data (step S54returns yes), the back image data matching the specified data ID isselected and read from the image data stored in the memory unit 14, andthen sent through the communication interface 15 to the host device 30(step S55). The process shown in FIG. 8 then ends.

If the optical reading process ends in error, the status data stored inRAM in the memory unit 12 is sent to the host device 30 in step S53 orS55. The host device 30 can then reference this status data to determinethe cause of the error in the image reading operation.

The MICR data matching the data ID is also read from memory unit 12 inthe MICR data transmission process run as step S18 in FIG. 4, and issent through the communication interface 15 to the host device 30. Ifthe magnetic reading process ended in error, the status data stored inthe memory unit 12 is sent to the host device 30. The host device 30 canthen reference this status data to determine the cause of the errorduring the magnetic reading operation.

A process run by a host device 30 using this hybrid processing apparatus1 is described next. The host device 30 can execute a variety ofprocesses using the hybrid processing apparatus 1 depending upon thefunctions of the application program, and two typical processes aredescribed below. FIG. 9 is a flow chart of a first process executed bythe host device 30, and FIG. 10 is a flow chart of a second processexecuted by the host device 30.

The first process shown in FIG. 9 sequentially executes the single-passmultiple-reading command, the MICR data transmission command, and theimage data transmission command. The host device 30 first sends thesingle-pass multiple-reading command to the hybrid processing apparatus1 at a specific time (step S101). The data ID of the slip P to be readis added to the single-pass multiple-reading command as a parameter. Theprocess described in FIG. 9 further assumes that both the magneticreading process and optical reading process are indicated by parametersas the type of reading process executed in this single-passmultiple-reading process.

When the single-pass multiple-reading command is received, the hybridprocessing apparatus 1 runs the single-pass multiple-reading processshown in FIG. 5, and the host device 30 thus receives the read resultreturned from the hybrid processing apparatus 1 as shown in step S42 inFIG. 5 (step S102).

If the magnetic reading process ended normally (step S103 returns yes)based on the MICR read result contained in the read result received instep S102, the host device 30 sends a MICR data transmission command tothe hybrid processing apparatus 1 (step S104). When the hybridprocessing apparatus 1 receives the MICR data transmission command, thehybrid processing apparatus 1 runs the MICR data transmission process.As a result, the host device 30 receives and sequentially stores theMICR data from the hybrid processing apparatus 1 in storage device 30 b(step S105).

However, if the magnetic reading process ended in error (step S103returns no) based on the MICR read result contained in the read resultreceived in step S102, the host device 30 stops reading the slip P andthe process shown in FIG. 9 ends.

If the optical reading process ended normally (step S106 returns yes)based on the image data read result contained in the read resultreceived in step S102, the host device 30 sends an image datatransmission command to the hybrid processing apparatus 1 (step S107).When the hybrid processing apparatus 1 receives the image datatransmission command, the hybrid processing apparatus 1 runs the imagedata transmission process. As a result, the host device 30 receives andsequentially stores the image data from the hybrid processing apparatus1 in storage device 30 b (step S108).

However, if the optical reading process ended in error (step S106returns no) based on the image data read result received in step S102,steps S107 and S108 do not execute and the process shown in FIG. 9 ends.

The image data transmission command sent in step S107 must indicatewhether to retrieve the front or the back image data. To get the imagedata for both front and back sides of the slip P, steps S107 and S108must be executed twice with this parameter set to separately specify thefront and back sides.

The MICR data and image data sent from the hybrid processing apparatus 1to the host device 30 is stored in a hard disk or other storage device30 b as digital data linked to the specified data ID as a result of thefirst process shown in FIG. 9. The host device 30 can thus read the MICRdata and image data matching the data ID of the desired slip P from thestorage device 30 b as needed for presentation and verification on adisplay, for example.

The second process shown in FIG. 10 likewise sequentially executes thesingle-pass multiple-reading command, the MICR data transmissioncommand, and the image data transmission command, and adds an errorhandling process. The host device 30 first sends the single-passmultiple-reading command to the hybrid processing apparatus 1 at aspecific time (step S201).

When the single-pass multiple-reading command is received, the hybridprocessing apparatus 1 runs the single-pass multiple-reading processshown in FIG. 5, and the host device 30 thus receives the read resultreturned from the hybrid processing apparatus 1 (step S202).

The parameters added to the single-pass multiple-reading command insteps S201 and S202 are the same as the parameters described in stepsS101 and S102 in FIG. 9.

If the magnetic reading process ended normally (step S203 returns yes)based on the MICR read result contained in the read result received instep S202, the host device 30 sends a MICR data transmission command tothe hybrid processing apparatus 1 (step S204), and receives andsequentially stores the MICR data from the hybrid processing apparatus 1in storage device 30 b (step S205) as described in steps S104 and S105in FIG. 9.

However, if the magnetic reading process ended in error (step S203returns no) based on the MICR read result contained in the read resultreceived in step S202, the host device 30 sends the MICR datatransmission command (step S206), and runs an error handling process(step S207).

Because the host device 30 knows in steps S206 and S207 that an erroroccurred on the hybrid processing apparatus 1 during the MICR datareading process, the host device 30 runs an error handling process toreport the error. The cause of the MICR read error can be determined bychecking the status data sent to the host device 30 during the MICR datatransmission process.

The error handling process executed in step S207 could, for example,present a specific message based on the status data on the display ofthe host device 30.

The process shown in FIG. 10 ends after step S207 without reading theslip P.

After step S205, the image data read result contained in the read resultreceived in step S202 is checked. If the optical reading process endednormally (step S208 returns yes), the host device 30 sends an image datatransmission command to the hybrid processing apparatus 1 (step S209)and thus receives and sequentially stores the image data from the hybridprocessing apparatus 1 in storage device 30 b (step S210) as describedin steps S107 and S108 in FIG. 9.

However, if the optical reading process ended in error (step S208returns no) based on the image data read result received in step S202,the image data transmission command is sent (step S211) and an errorhandling process is then run (step S211).

Because the host device 30 knows in steps S211 and S212 that an erroroccurred on the hybrid processing apparatus 1 during the image scanningprocess, the host device 30 runs an error handling process to report theerror. The cause of the image scanning error can be determined byreferencing the status data sent to the host device 30 during the imagedata transmission process.

The error handling process executed in step S212 could, for example,present a specific message based on the status data on the display ofthe host device 30.

As a result of the second process shown in FIG. 10, the MICR data andimage data sent from the hybrid processing apparatus 1 to the hostdevice 30 is stored in a hard disk or other storage device 30 b asdigital data linked to the specified data ID, and if an error occurredfor some reason, the error status can be reliably determined. The hostdevice 30 operator can then operate the hybrid processing apparatus 1 asneeded to correct the cause of the error.

The error content indicated in steps S203 and S208 in FIG. 10 couldinclude, for example, a problem with the slip P, the hybrid processingapparatus 1 cover being open, a malfunction of the MICR head 22, or anerror storing data in the memory unit 12, 14. The error messagesdisplayed in the error handling process are therefore preferably setaccording to the actual error content.

A document reading apparatus and a document reading processing systemaccording to the foregoing embodiments of the invention can thus executeboth a magnetic reading process and an optical reading process, andacquire both MICR data and image data, while a slip P is conveyed oncethrough the transportation path 2 when the hybrid processing apparatus 1receives a single-pass multiple-reading command from the host device 30.Operation of the document reading apparatus is thus simplified on thehost device 30 side, processing time can be greatly shortened, andefficiency is improved.

Furthermore, by adding a parameter to the single-pass multiple-readingcommand to selectively specify the type of data reading process, andusing the read result for error processing, a hybrid processingapparatus 1 can be provided as a document reading apparatus affordingimproved convenience and excellent ease of use for the user of the hostdevice 30.

A document reading apparatus according to the present invention can thuseasily link the optically scanned image data of a check with themagnetic ink character data read from the same check because themagnetic reading process and optical reading process are executed duringa single pass through the transportation path. More specifically,linking the scanned image data to the magnetic ink character data is noteasy with a conventional device, and the image of a previously scannedcheck could be erroneously linked to the magnetic ink character dataread from a check processed therebefore or thereafter. Because the linkbetween the optical image data and magnetic ink character data isunmistakable with the present invention, however, image data andmagnetic ink character data can be easily saved to the same file andtransferred to the host computer.

Although the present invention has been described in connection with thepreferred embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, it is to be noted that various changes and modifications willbe apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modificationsare to be understood as included within the scope of the presentinvention as defined by the appended claims, unless they departtherefrom.

1. A document reading processing system having a document readingapparatus for reading a slip on which magnetic ink characters areprinted, the document reading apparatus being connected via a network toa host device for operating the document reading apparatus, wherein: thedocument reading apparatus comprises a transportation unit that conveysthe slip through a transportation path; a magnetic reading unit thatmagnetically reads the printed magnetic ink characters from the slip inthe transportation path and outputs magnetic ink character recognition(MICR) data; an optical reading unit that optically reads an image ofthe slip in the transportation path and outputs image data; and acontrol unit that controls the transportation unit, the magnetic readingunit, and the optical reading unit, according to a command from the hostdevice; and the host device comprises a command unit that instructs thedocument reading apparatus to magnetically read magnetic ink charactersand optically read an image from a specific slip during a single pass ofthe slip through the transportation path, and to transmit a read resultto the host device; and a read data storage unit that stores MICR andimage data transmitted from the document reading apparatus correlated tothe specific slip that was read.
 2. The document reading processingsystem described in claim 1, wherein the control unit of the documentreading apparatus generates data for identifying whether the magneticreading and optical reading ended normally or in error as the readresult of the single-pass multiple-reading, and returns the read resultto the host device that sent the single-pass multiple-reading command.3. The document reading processing system described in claim 1, wherein:the control unit of the document reading apparatus interprets controlcommands received from the host device and controls operation accordingto the interpreted commands; and the command unit of the host devicesends as control commands to the document reading apparatus asingle-pass multiple-reading command instructing execution of bothmagnetic reading and optical reading in a single pass of the slipthrough the transportation path, a magnetically read data transmissioncommand instructing transmission of the MICR data to the host, and animage data transmission command instructing transmission of the imagedata to the host.
 4. The document reading processing system described inclaim 3, wherein the command unit of the host device adds to thesingle-pass multiple-reading command a parameter for selectivelyspecifying magnetic reading or optical reading as the type of reading ofthe slip during the single pass through the transportation path; and thecontrol unit of the document reading apparatus selectively executes onlythe type of reading specified by the parameter in the single-passmultiple-reading command.
 5. The document reading processing systemdescribed in claim 3, wherein the optical reading unit of the documentreading apparatus has a first optical reading unit that reads a frontside of the slip and outputs front image data, and a second opticalreading unit that reads a back side of the slip and outputs back imagedata; the host device adds an image parameter to the image datatransmission command for selectively specifying whether image data forthe front or image data for the back of the slip is to be read; and thecontrol unit of the document reading apparatus selectively transmitsonly image data for the side specified by said image parameter in theimage data transmission process.
 6. The document reading processingsystem described in claim 3, wherein the control unit of the documentreading apparatus generates data for identifying whether the magneticreading and optical reading ended normally or in error as the readresult of the single-pass multiple-reading, and returns the read resultto the host device that sent the single-pass multiple-reading command.7. The document reading processing system described in claim 6, whereinthe command unit of the host device sends the magnetically read datatransmission command or image data transmission command to the documentreading apparatus only when the reading is determined to have endednormally based on the returned read result.
 8. The document readingprocessing system described in claim 6, wherein the host device runs anerror process when the reading is determined to have ended in errorbased on the returned read result.
 9. The document reading processingsystem described in claim 8, wherein the control unit of the documentreading apparatus returns status data to the host device in themagnetically read data transmission process when the magnetic readinggenerates an error and ends processing for a slip, the status dataindicating a cause of the error, and the host device runs an errorhandling process according to the content of the received status data.10. A document reading apparatus for reading a slip on which magneticink characters are printed, comprising: a transportation unit thatconveys the slip through a transportation path; a magnetic reading unitthat magnetically reads the printed magnetic ink characters from theslip in the transportation path and outputs magnetic ink characterrecognition (MICR) data; an optical reading unit that optically reads animage of the slip in the transportation path and outputs image data; anda control unit that interprets an input control command, and based onthe interpreted control command, controls the transportation unit, themagnetic reading unit, and the optical reading unit; the control commandcontaining a single-pass multiple-reading command to magnetically readmagnetic ink characters and optically read an image from a specific slipduring a single pass of the slip through the transportation path. 11.The document reading apparatus as described in claim 10, wherein amagnetically read data transmission command instructing execution of amagnetically read data transmission process for transferringmagnetically read data from the specific slip, and an image datatransmission command instructing execution of an image data transmissionprocess for transferring image data read from the specific slip arecontrol commands interpreted by the control unit.
 12. The documentreading apparatus as described in claim 11, wherein a parameter forselectively specifying magnetic reading or optical reading as the typeof reading of the slip during the single pass through the transportationpath is added to the single-pass multiple-reading command; and thecontrol unit selectively executes only the type of reading specified bythe parameter in the single-pass multiple-reading command.
 13. Thedocument reading apparatus as described in claim 10, wherein the controlunit generates and outputs data for identifying whether the magneticreading and optical reading process ended normally or in error as a readresult of the single-pass multiple-reading.
 14. The document readingapparatus as described in claim 10, wherein the optical reading unit ofthe document reading apparatus contains a first optical reading unitthat reads a front side of the slip and outputs front image data, and asecond optical reading unit that reads a back side of the slip andoutputs back image data.
 15. The document reading apparatus as describedin claim 10, wherein the control unit generates data for identifyingwhether the magnetic reading and optical reading ended normally or inerror as the read result of the single-pass multiple-reading process,and returns the read result to a host device that sent the single-passmultiple-reading command.
 16. The document reading apparatus asdescribed in claim 11, wherein the control unit returns status data to ahost device in the magnetically read data transmission process when themagnetic reading generates an error and ends processing for a specifiedslip, the status data indicating a cause of the error, and returnsstatus data to the host device in the image data transmission processwhen the optical reading generates an error and ends processing for aspecified slip, the status data indicating a cause of the error.
 17. Ahybrid processing apparatus comprising a document reading apparatus asdescribed in claim 10, and a printing unit including a print head thatprints on the slip, wherein the control unit controls a printingoperation of the printing unit based on a command from a host device.18. A document reading processing method for reading a slip on whichmagnetic ink characters are printed, comprising: receiving a single-passmultiple-reading command from a host device; interpreting thesingle-pass multiple-reading command; and in response to the single-passmultiple-reading command, magnetically reading the printed magnetic inkcharacters from the slip and optically reading an image of the slip in asingle pass of the slip through a slip transportation path, andoutputting a read result.
 19. The document reading processing method asdescribed in claim 18, further comprising a step of generating andoutputting data for identifying whether the magnetic reading and opticalreading ended normally or in error as the read result of the single-passmultiple-reading command.
 20. The document reading processing method asdescribed in claim 18, wherein when a parameter added to the single-passmultiple-reading command is determined to be a parameter for selectivelyspecifying magnetic reading or optical reading as the type of reading ofthe slip during the single pass through the transportation path,selectively executing only the type of reading specified by theparameter.